Healtcare insurance options

[zoe]

I am retired and now my spouse (who is 55) is thinking seriously of it, too. 

As we look at what we'll need, the one big 'hole' we are afriad of is getting and paying for heathcare insurance. Even using my spouse's COBRA for the next 18 months, this will leave us with 8+ years until we can get Medicare covergage.  We have houses in CT and MA and could "live" in either state, but from what we have found so far, the costs for healthcare insurance coverage for the two of us (with moderate high blood pressure) and our college daugther are from $16,000 to $25,000 per year, before out-of-pocket costs.

Anyone got any suggestions, experience or info they could offer?  Thank you in advance.... Zoe

 

[nwsteve]

coverage for the two of us (with moderate high blood pressure) and our college daugther are from $16,000 to $25,000 per year, before out-of-pocket costs.
Zoe

Zoe
Check out your daughter's college plan for her coverage.  When I covered my daughter, I had to pay the year up front but it was like 400 for a year and it had better coverage than she would have gotten in my plan as a dependent.
nwsteve

 

[zoe]

nwsteve, thanks for the great insight about how to cover our daughter. I remember that we got a mailing from the university when she started but I didn't think about retirement at the time and forgot. Thanks... zoe

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Make sure you check out your heathcare portability options to go from cobra to a regular plan. If you have ANY pre-existing conditions or have had ANY 'funny' test results or doctors notes in your recent (say 5 year) medical history, you have a strong chance of being denied coverage, or coverage at a reasonable price. Your high blood pressure would cause you big problems there.

This is something me and Mrs. () will probably face at some point when she stops working part time and we lose her health care plan. She has asthma, so we're going to end up in the california "risk pool" if we dont cobra and hippa ourselves into some plan.

We have some good sized (couple of grand) prescription drug costs and an 11.5 month old son. If we cant get adequate full coverage at a reasonable price, i'd probably be tempted to take a high deductible (5 or 10k) plan without prescription drug coverage, buy our meds at costco and pay for our coverage out of pocket as needed. That 16-25k a year you're talking about is the kind of number that would push me to that "self insured with a disaster plan backup" option.

The good news is I see absolutely no way that the healthcare system and related costs can continue for more than 5-7 years before something is done about it, like a statewide or nationalized healthcare system that everybody belongs to. My wifes probably going to work for at least 5-7 more years.

Either we'll have people paying $100k a year for their insurance or a lot of doctors sitting around waiting for a patient to show up and a lot of sick people sitting at home hoping it "goes away".

 

[dlhanson]

Personally, I like the current system. It is great for those who eat right (lots of vegetables and fruit, no or little meat, and no alcohol), keep their weight down, and exercise regularly. I have retirement medical (left five years ago at age 50) for the family from my previous employer. We choose a high deductible ($2500 per person) plan for $39 per month. Over the past five years, we have saved thousands of dollars (compared to the regular plans that we used to have to choose from).

I am also covered at my current job with no premium.

 

[salecat]

david-in-sc...I agree with the previous poster. Don't be overconfident.

DW & I may not do everything right, but we try to eat sensibly & exercise. But in 1997 DW had a non-invasive (level 0) malignant breast tumor. In terms of BC this is as mild as it comes. Here we are 8 years later paying throught the nose for the coverage we have. We've been told that a new insurer won't cover her until she has been clean for 10 years. Knowing the insurance industry, I'm sure they will have an excuse not to cover her then, or they will do it at a ridiculously high rate.

I don't mean to sound so cynical about the health insurance industry, but since I work for myself and therefore insure myself I've seen firsthand what happens to your premium if, god forbid, you actually have to use the insurance. By the way they stick it to you pretty well in years when they pay you nothing.

So I hope you stay healthy and continue to have your premiums paid for or subsidized by your employer.

Regards...Salecat